Monthly Archives: March 2013

I was going to blog about this tomorrow, but since it will be April 1, I figured a) everyone is busy being distracted by the Internet’s funny, and b) some people might not take me seriously. So I have to get this in on March 31:
I got nominated for the Campbell again!

The John W. Campbell Award is given to the “Best New Writer” – meaning someone who has had their first pro sale in the last 2 years. So with my sale to Cabinet of Curiosities, I became eligible for the award, and my “Campbell clock” started to tick in 2011. So I got nominated in 2012 (lost, obviously) and now I’m nominated again in 2013, my last eligible year! Next year I’m not new anymore, so this is the last chance I have!

(Note, the Campbell is not a Hugo. Although it’s announced at the same time. And given at the same ceremony. Don’t get me started.)

I’d love to put my new book on the Hugo Packet, but it has to be work published in 2012 or 2011. That’s not a ton of stuff, but I’ll put what I can in there, and point people to all sorts of other work. 🙂

I have several friends nominated for Hugo awards, and I’m thrilled for them all. But I have to say a special shoutout to my ISBW producer, Patrick Hester, who is nominated for two Hugos as podcaster with SF Signal podcast, and blogger with the SF Signal site (Best Fanzine nominee.) Go Patrick! Otherwise I won’t show favoritism; I’m too excited for everyone below to choose favorites at this time.

Best Novel (1,113 ballots)

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson (Orbit)

Blackout by Mira Grant (Orbit)

Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance by Lois McMaster Bujold (Baen)

Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas by John Scalzi (Tor)

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed (DAW)

Best Novella (587 ballots)

After the Fall, Before the Fall, During the Fall by Nancy Kress (Tachyon Publications)

The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson (Tachyon Publications)

On a Red Station, Drifting by Aliette de Bodard (Immersion Press)

San Diego 2014: The Last Stand of the California Browncoats by Mira Grant (Orbit)

I admit it. Unlike the very brave and self assured Vi Hart, I’m a fragile flower when it comes to comments, whether about my blog or books or whatever. So this email really struck home, and it’s funny as well (esp. when the video kinda goes off topic – WAX!) I love her style, and her advice is spot on.

I’ve heard from a few sources that email to mur.lafferty at gmail.com is bouncing. And since I have the account forwarded to another account, I haven’t accessed it in a while so I’m having trouble getting in.

So if you need to email me, PLEASE mail mightymur at gmail.com for the forseeable future. Thanks.

Brad Parks writes from Brooklyn, NY: pharmaceutical copywriting by day, fantasy and science fiction the rest of the time. Out of desperation, he founded the now fabulously successful critique group Brooklyn Speculative Fiction Writers (we’re on the list) through Meetup.com. Brad blogs at bradzooks.com.

Finding A Speculative Fiction Writing Group

The value of having a group of your peers to critique your work cannot be overstated. But finding a group that meets your particular needs can be daunting. I know. My own search led me to create the group that works for me.

Your group may already be out there, so I’ve assembled this quick guide to finding it or starting it yourself.

Websites for writing groups
Meetup.com is a fantastic place to start your search for a writing group to help you hone your speculative fiction writing skills. Below is just a selection of successful groups, which for his purpose I’ve defined as more than 100 members and/or meeting on a regular basis.

Obviously, Meetup is a great place to look for an active group in your area, or if none exists, do what I did and create your own. Feel free to reach out to the organizers of BSFW for advice on starting and running a critique group like ours.

Other writing groups exist outside Meetup, and can be found with a simple online search, for example:

A list of lists
The Science Fiction Writers of America has a few lists of their own, which haven’t been updated in a while, though, like many of their other resources, are still worth checking out:http://www.sfwa.org/tag/critique-groups/http://www.sfwa.org/category/workshops-and-critique-groups/
Online writing workshops
For those who either can’t find a good group nearby or who live in remote areas where creating a group of your own isn’t practical, consider one of these excellent online writing workshops (thanks to Angie Smibert (www.angiesmibert.com/blog/?p=262) for the list)). Check each site for their requirements for participation in the community, which usually means you need to critique other writers in order to get your work critiqued.

Professional groups
These are generally not open to new members, as all the members are professional writers. But they frequently keep blogs dripping with useful advice from writers who’ve been there, and it’s a great place to keep up with your favorite writers.

Wyrdsmiths (www.wyrdsmiths.com) (blog at: www.wyrdsmiths.blogspot.com)
This Minneapolis-St. Paul area group features such outstanding authors as Lyda Morehouse, Kelly McCollough and Naomi Kritzer, and their blog is a balanced blend of news and advice.

Codex (www.codexwriters.com)
A dual-purpose workshopping and discussion group for writers who have met their definition of professional status.

As you can see, your next writing group may be just an online search away, or may even be one of the ones listed above. If you have a group to add to the list, please do so in the comments of this post.

While most people write far too many words in their novels, and consider rewriting as a trimming process, some of us write too spare and are left with a <80000 word novel and you have to figure out how to stretch to hit wordcount.